COLOMBO, May 14: A Sri Lankan court on Thursday remanded one of the most prominent Buddhist monks of the island nation in a case of sexual abuse of a minor girl.
The Colombo Fort magistrate’s court served the remand order on 71-year-old Pallegama Hemarathana, chief priest of a prominent Buddhist temple.
The court ordered that the monk be kept in remand until May 22 and be transferred to the National Hospital from a private hospital where he had been warded when he was arrested.
The monk was arrested on May 9 following an investigation into the case of sexually abusing a now 15-year-old girl in the temple premises located in the north central capital of Anuradhapura, about 200 kms from Colombo.
The monk heads Atamasthana, the most venerated eight Buddhist shrines, including the Sri Maha Bodhi, the holiest shrine next to the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. These eight shrines are a world heritage site visited by tens of thousands of Buddhist pilgrims.
The arrest came after weeks of investigations led by the National Child Protection Authority.
The child’s mother was also arrested for aiding and abetting child abuse.
A complaint about the incident was registered in March. Hemarathana was arrested from the emergency unit of a private hospital in Colombo, where he was undergoing some treatment. (PTI)
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